Chapter 66: A Thorn Under the Skin
Zac walked down the mountain trail, occasionally glancing left and right at the countless pathways branching off in different directions.
"You know," Zac muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets, "it was a lot easier when I was following her yesterday."
[No kidding. This entire place is like one giant maze.]
"I’m thinking the same. Seriously. How does every place look exactly the same?"
"At this rate, I’m going to be late for orientation."
[Then you probably should’ve memorised the route yesterday instead of staring at her back.]
Zac nearly stumbled. "What?"
[You heard me.]
"You do realize she’s basically an aunt to me, right?"
[An aunt who promised your mother she’d marry you when you grew up.]
Zac groaned. "Can you stop bringing that up?"
"She’s not my aunt. I mean... she is, but she isn’t."
[Get a hold of yourself; at this rate, you’re never gonna make it in time.]
"I know! It’s just, you know what I mean, right?"
The system laughed. [Actually, no. Why don’t you explain it to me?]
"Well, she’s like family, at the same time, she’s not family. Ahhh...Why do relationships have to be so hard?"
[You are just overcomplicating stuff.]
[First of all, she isn’t blood-related. Second of all, consanguineous marriages are common even in your world. And if that didn’t make you calm, let me tell you that there are worlds out there where people marry relatives far closer than that.]
"I really don’t want to have this conversation. Plus, I don’t have any interest in her anyway."
"You said the same thing about Lima."
Zac immediately frowned. "That’s different. Okay."
[How?]
Zac let out a sigh. "Even though I didn’t have any romantic feelings for her when we first met, I was still attracted to her. I don’t know if it was just infatuation or lust, or maybe I was simply trying to fill the hole left by my breakup. Whatever the reason, the fact remained that I was attracted to her."
"But for Armani..." Zac hesitated. "I don’t know."
He scratched the back of his head. "She’s obviously beautiful. Probably on the same level as Lima or maybe higher."
[Comparing the woman you love is a huge red flag. So don’t do that.]
"I know, but my point is... even though she’s all that beautiful, there’s just... nothing."
He searched for the right words but couldn’t find one. "There are no romantic feelings. Not even the possibility of it."
"It’s hard to explain. Whenever I think about Armani, I only feel two things."
The system immediately perked up. [And those are?]
"The first one is admiration."
[That’s new.]
"Yeah." Zac looked ahead while continuing down the path.
"You know... from the little history I’ve read... Human society has mostly been dominated by men. When women wanted to become something extraordinary, there was always resistance from the men, the women, and even from her own family."
"Take Lima, for example. She ran away from home to escape from a political marriage. There are always people trying to push them back down."
"But Armani..." Zac shook his head.
"She became one of the strongest people in the world all on her own. Doing whatever she wanted. Without caring what anyone thought."
[That’s a very big assumption.]
Zac frowned.
"What is?"
[That she did it alone.]
[Everything you know about her comes from a handful of stories. Who knows what really happened behind the scenes?]
"Maybe. But..."
"I just can’t imagine her relying on someone else’s favor. She doesn’t seem like that kind of person to me. She’s the type who would rather break than bend."
For a few moments, neither of them spoke. Then the system returned to the original topic.
[And the second thing?]
Zac’s expression immediately changed. "She terrifies me."
The system nearly choked. [You’re afraid of her?]
"I’m afraid of you too."
The laughter stopped. [Come again?]
Zac kept walking. "Didn’t you tell me yourself that you had an ulterior motive when you bonded with me?"
[I did.] The system sounded surprisingly calm. [But I also told you it wouldn’t affect you or the people you care about unless you deliberately involved yourself in my problems.]
[And even then, it’s not something that’s going to happen tomorrow. You still have a long way to go before you ever reach that point.]
[So what’s the issue?]
Zac looked down at the stone path beneath his feet. "It doesn’t make me feel any better."
[Why?]
"It’s like... having a thorn stuck under your skin. Most of the time, you can just ignore it. It may not hurt you right now and stop you from living your life, but every time you bruise against it, you will feel that sting, a small pain just enough to remind you that it’s still there."
"And then there is always that thought in the back of your head, what if it gets worse? What if one day it turns into something serious that you can no longer ignore?"
For a long moment, the system didn’t reply. Finally, a broken-heart emoji appeared in front of Zac’s eyes.
[Even though it hurts my heart knowing you think of me that way...]
Zac rolled his eyes.
[What does it have to do with Armani?]
Zac let out a slow breath. "My mom said Armani was like a sister to her."
"It’s been eight years since my father disappeared, and during all that time, she never came to visit us."
"There could be a thousand reasons for that, and most of them might be completely valid. But still... was there really no way she could’ve visited us even once?"
He shook his head. "I’m not saying she’s a bad person. That’s not what I’m getting at."
"It’s just...Why now?"
"It’s not like she’s some random Jane Doe. She’s one of the strongest people in the world, yet she personally came to recruit me."
"And she also happens to be my mom’s sworn sister."
The more he thought about it, the less comfortable he felt. "When I put all those pieces together, something just doesn’t sit right."
[You think she has another motive?]
"I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, or maybe it’s my instincts telling me there’s something I’m missing."
[You know what your problem is?]
[You still haven’t let go of the past.]
Zac’s expression immediately darkened.
[Yeah, I’m talking about Lily.]
[Just because she was a liar and a cheater doesn’t mean everyone you meet is one too.]
[It’s the same thing with Lima. You only started trusting her after you slept with her. Unless you’re planning to sleep with everyone you meet, you should probably find a better way to judge people.]
Zac nearly rolled his eyes.
[I know it’s hard to move on from something like that. And I’m not telling you to forget what happened. In fact, you shouldn’t forget it.]
[People get hurt. They fail and make mistakes. That’s part of life. If you forget those experiences, you lose the lessons that came with them.]
[But that’s not your problem.]
[Your problem is that you’re still carrying around all the anger, disappointment, and resentment that came with it.]
The system paused. [And honestly? It’s getting old.]
[The sooner you let go of those emotions, the easier your life becomes.]
For once, Zac didn’t have a comeback. He simply kept walking, quietly thinking about what the system had said.
Then the system ruined his self-realization moment with its next comment.
[You should really start paying me for these therapy sessions.]
Zac snorted. "Why do you always have to end it by acting cheap?"
[Excuse me?]
"You’re literally the reason half my stress exists."
[First of all, I am not the reason for your stress. You have stress because you’re a wimp.]
[Second, yes, I’m an information system.]
[Third, personalities aren’t something you’re born with. They’re built from the realisations you have about yourself and the experiences you go through.]
[And finally, the beauty of life is that you never know what the next minute will bring. The day that uncertainty disappears is the day life loses its meaning.]
Before Zac could respond, his eyes suddenly widened.
A familiar archway, the outer entrance of the mountain path, appeared ahead.
"Finally, there it is."
After coming down from the mountain, Zac stopped a few people along the way and asked for directions.
Fortunately, New Dawn Academy students seemed used to lost recruits. Within a few minutes, he had a general idea of where he needed to go.
Unfortunately, by the time he got there, he was already running late.
The academy was already bustling with activity. Students moved through the streets in groups while faculty members headed toward various buildings. The entire academy felt alive.
Yet something felt... off. As Zac hurried toward the orientation venue, he noticed people looking at him strangely.
Zac frowned. "Why is everyone staring at me? Is it because I’m too handsome?"
[Your narcissism is making me sick.]
"Hey, it’s not my fault I was born this good-looking."
[Please stop.]
The strange looks continued all the way to the orientation building.
As Zac arrived, he found himself standing before a massive white marble structure. Its architecture perfectly matched the rest of the academy, with elegant white stone walls, towering pillars, and enormous windows.
Making his way to the giant entrance doors, he noticed a security guard standing beside them.
"Excuse me," Zac called out.
The guard looked at him. "Are you a new recruit?"
"Yeah. My name is Zac Delencore."
The guard blinked. "Wait. You’re that student?"
Then, to Zac’s confusion, the man suddenly started laughing.
"I don’t get it," Zac said. "What do you mean by that, student?"
"Sorry, sorry. My bad." The guard waved him off. "Go on in." Still confused, Zac pushed open the doors and stepped inside.
The moment he entered the auditorium, every single head turned toward him. Some looked shocked, some looked curious, and others looked like they were trying not to laugh.
Zac stopped in place with his eyebrows slowly furrowed. "Why did I suddenly become the center of attention?"
And that was how his first day at the academy began.
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